Actor Whitney Rydbeck Dead At 79

Actor Whitney Rydbeck , best known for his role in the 1986 film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives an appearance on the iconic television show M*A*S*H and a series of Crash Test Dummies commercials, has died at the age of 79 from prostate cancer complications while in hospice care, his longtime friend Tommy McLoughlin , the director of Jason Lives , confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter on Saturday (June 20).

"We lost not only a truly funny comedian and actor…but one of the most good hearted human beings I’ve ever known. God Bless You and Rest in Peace..Whitney Rydbeck. Our Loss is Heavens’ Gain," McLoughlin wrote in a separate Instagram post paying tribute to the actor.

Rydbeck played the comically nerdy Roy in McGloughlin's Friday the 13th film, donning protective goggles over regular glasses when he comes across the titular slasher villain Jason in the woods during a corporate paintball game. The actor also famously appeared as one of Crash Test Dummies in a series of commercials in the 1980s, which ended with the tagline "You Could Learn a Lot From a Dummy."

“God forbid you had to go to the bathroom,” Rydbeck said of the Crash Test Dummy suit he wore in the commercials via the Washington Post .

“I always buckle up, I’ll tell you that," he added.

Rydbeck's other notable television credits included The Brady Bunch , Phyllis , Cagney & Lacey , Star Trek: The Next Generation , Highway to Heaven , Sisters , Living Single , Party of Five and Scrubs .